The highly anticipated Borderlands 3 is less than a month away and there’s an update about the performance we can expect to see when the game releases next month.
Recently, Windows Gaming Central reached out to the publisher wanting to know what we can expect the game to perform at on Xbox One X and they have gotten a response from the source themselves.
“Borderlands 3 will feature two modes on Xbox One X. Favor Resolution boosts the visuals to 4K resolution, but caps the frame rate to 30 frames per second (FPS). However, Favor Performance lowers the resolution to 1080p, but unlocks the frame rate so that it goes up to 60 FPS. It’s unclear if the final build will feature a stable 60 FPS or a fluctuating frame rate, but that’s the goal at the moment. We’ve also learned that the game will come in at 40 GB on Xbox One X and features a field-of-view slider.”
It’s great that the game will let the player decide how he wants to see and play the game. Borderlands 3 will hit the shelves and hopefully our hearts on September 13th.
When it comes to almost any kind of media, one of the best things I love to do is turn my brain off and take in all the campiness and cheese it can offer. It could be so bad it’s good like The Room, hilariously campy like Street Fighter: The Movie or in the case of Metal Wolf Chaos, a glorious homage to B-Movies with awful voice acting and dialogue that you’d think would be dated by today’s standards. However there’s something about Metal Wolf Chaos that works.
For those who don’t know, Metal Wolf Chaos was originally a 2004 game released only in Japan on the original Xbox by From Software. While it went under the radar when it first came out, it quickly gained a massive cult status. So much so that in recent years it has been much harder to obtain an import copy. In comes Devolver Digital with the announcement at E3 2018 to the surprise of many by announcing an HD remaster. This came after an overwhelming amount of fan demand back in 2017 when they asked if anyone would be interested in an HD remaster. The result is a solid remaster that stays true to a cult classic.
Story
To say that Metal Wolf Chaos has a fun yet simple plot would be an understatement. In a way this is about campy as the Earth Defense Force series. You play as Michael Wilson, the 47th President of the United States as the United States plunges into a state of civil and economic unrest. The military starts a revolution led by Vice President Richard Hawk and succeeds in gaining control of the nation’s government institutions. It’s now up to you to take down Richard Hawk and save the US from nuclear destruction, all while piloting an armored mech.
There is so much charm in the story from the bad voice acting to the cheesy as hell dialogue. A lot of the memorable quotes come from Michael Wilson especially the opening cutscene which is undoubtedly the best representation of its tone. Sometimes it’s best if a game doesn’t take itself seriously and still has an enjoyable story. It’s gloriously bad in all the right ways.
Gameplay
If you’re familiar with Armored Core, (Another game made by From Software) you should feel right at home but even if you aren’t this is still a competent mech game. Metal Wolf gives you a good amount of fun weapons that you can upgrade as you progress. Each level is represented by a different city in the United States that has been taken over by the military.
One small problem I do have is that the game can get a bit challenging in later levels especially if you run out of ammo. Newcomers might also have a bit of a challenge if you’re unfamiliar with mech games due to a lack of tutorials and weapon management. However it’s a small price to pay as you progress through the story. That’s the best way I can describe the gameplay since it’s basically Armored Core with a massive amount of cheese but honestly that’s fine by me.
Presentation
As I said before, I think this is a solid port but there are a few issues. On both my tests with the PS4 and PC versions, XD suffers from both buggy audio and sound mixing. Sometimes the sound effects are way too loud or the cutscene audio just cuts out for no reason. General Arcade has said that it’s working on fixes these issues but as of patch 1.02, the problem still remains but at least they’re aware. Much like the original Xbox release, Metal Wolf Chaos XD runs at 30FPS with English VA’s only on all platforms. It isn’t really that big of an issue because it’s tied to the game logic and I didn’t really notice any drops, in fact the same thing that happened with Shenmue 1 & 2 last year.
In regards to graphics and sound, it does the job. You’re rather limited in terms of PC options but you can scale the resolution all the way up to 4K. PS4 Pro and Xbox One X users also have this option to output at 4K although the game still remains at 30FPS. You’re also stuck with English Voice Over only I primarily played this game on PC at 1080p but whatever version you get, the remaster looks decent and sharp.
Final Thoughts
Despite some minor issues, Metal Wolf Chaos XD is a great way to experience this underappreciated gem of the Early 2000s. The game still holds up quite well due to its fun plot and good gameplay. At $25, it might be a little steep but all the problems should be fixed in the next month or so. If anything, I would recommend getting the physical version at the end of August but either way you’ll be satisfied with this game.
Developer Chucklefish has announced a physical edition for their popular strategy RPG, Wargroove for PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
The game released digitally on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC with a PS4 version announced but having yet to release. It looks like the physical version may be the first copy to hit PS4 but we’ll see.
As of now, there’s no date for the physical release, but it’s being released as ‘Wargroove Deluxe Edition’ and will include the following via the Wargroove developer blog:
Mini Strategy Manual with stats & tips on all units (available in English, French, Italian, German & Spanish)
Reversible coversheet – it’s a clean version of the key art without all those messy logos, but complete with standard spine so that it still looks normal on your shelf!
Switch owners have yet another game to add to their extensive list of upcoming titles. The Switch version of A Hat in Time has been revealed, and Switch pre-orders are now available. The news was discovered from the game’s official listing on Amazon, which you can find here.
A Hat in Time is an action-adventure platformer developed by Gears for Breakfast and published by Humble Bundle. You play Hat Kid, a little girl who is trying to return to her home. Everything goes awry when her time pieces fly out of the ship and land on a nearby planet. Your goal is to traverse the planet and collect all the time pieces so you can find your way back home. Along the way, you meet many lovable characters and visit very unique places, along with make new friends of course. The game received an 80% average score on Metacritic, calling it a “must-buy for any 3D platforming fan”.
You thankfully won’t have to wait too long for this title either. A Hat in Time releases on the Nintendo Switch on October 18th for $39.99 USD. Have you played Hat in Time already or plan to in the future? Let us hear your thoughts.
Gamescom 2019 is now less than a week away, and companies are now revealing their schedules at the show. Among those is THQ Nordic, who have revealed all the games they’ll be streaming at the show with some interesting ones to turn into. Not only are there streams of their upcoming games, but also three completely unannounced titles.
The first of those streams is on August 20th at 14:30 CEST, offering a new game and special guests. The second stream is the most interesting out of the three, revealing THQ Nordic’s “first grand strategy game”. This one will take place at 12:30 CEST on August 21st, and will be the only stream for their whole show taking two hours. Finally, the third stream will be on August 23rd at 12:00 CEST, offering the same as the first stream but with a new game.
These of course aren’t the only games that will be showcased from THQ Nordic. Among the planned streams are SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated, Darksiders Genesis, and Destroy All Humans. For the full list of streams, you can check out their live schedule here.
This isn’t the only news THQ Nordic has had in the past few days. Just yesterday, they revealed that Dead Island 2 and a new Saints Row are in development. It’ll be interesting to see how all of these games pan out in the coming months. We’ll be sure to keep you posted when the games get announced at Gamescom next week.
Are you excited for Gamescom 2019 and what THQ Nordic has to offer? Let us know!
The Switch controller scene has been evolving ever since the console released back in 2017. 8bitdo, PowerA and other manufacturers are trying to create an alternative controller for people wanting to buy an extra controller or maybe save some money. 8bitdo has created what could be the best alternative Switch controller in the current market. The SN30 Pro+ is an evolution of their popular SN30 Pro controller. Recently released on August 7th, the SN30 Pro+ is already considered one of the best 3rd party controllers for Switch. Here’s what this controller brings to the table:
Build Quality:
The SN30 Pro+ currently comes in 3 different editions: Black, G Classic and SN. I chose the G Classic, which is designed with a classic Game Boy aesthetic. The controller has a very comfortable form similar to the official Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. Analog sticks are similar to those of Sony’s Dual shock 4 controllers and the d-pad is modeled after the classic Game Boy d-pad. The controller feels very sturdy due to being having clips on the inside of the shell with screws to reinforce the build, giving the controller a premium feel. The buttons have a satisfying click when pressed. The triggers are analog unlike the digital triggers from the official Pro Controller. However, the triggers are tuned to respond with the slightest pull. This ensures that the travel distance between pulling the triggers and response is almost identical to that of the official Pro Controller.
Features:
8bitdo’s SN30 Pro+ controller comes with a rechargeable battery which can be replaced with AA batteries. The controller is charged via USB-C just like Nintendo’s Pro Controller. Home and share buttons are also present. This controller even includes a 6 axis motion sensor. The battery life is projected to run around 20 hours on one charge. A major feature of the SN30 Pro+ is compatibility with 8bitdo’s Ultimate Software. Ultimate Software will allow the controller to receive firmware updates and a user could customize the functionality of the controller to their liking. Button mapping, stick sensitivity, trigger range, vibration and macros are all customizable. However, this software is currently only available on Windows. Another neat feature is the range of supported devices which includes macOS, Windows, Steam, Android and Raspberry Pi.
Value:
The SN30 Pro+ costs $50, 5 dollars more than the SN30 Pro. Although it costs more that its predecessor, the amount of features and upgrades makes it an affordable but premium product. It’s $15 to $20 cheaper than Nintendo’s official Pro Controller depending on the retailer and comes with most features a Pro Controller would offer.
Drawbacks:
Like most controllers, the SN30 Pro+ isn’t perfect. It lacks NFC capabilities so it won’t be able to scan amiibo. Unfortunately, the Switch can’t be turned on remotely by pressing the home button on the controller, which the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller can do. However, its possible that a firmware update may arrive to add this feature into the controller. Another important note is that the controller may have some syncing issues out of the box. Fortunately, this can be remedied by updating the controller to the latest firmware, version 3.0.1.
Games Tested:
Lastly, I’ve tested out a few games with the SN30 Pro+ over the past week. I’ve been addicted to Fire Emblem Three Houses lately so this is the first game I tested. The SN30 Pro+ is a very comfortable controller for this game and the battery lasts quite a while since vibration doesn’t occur often. It can last multiple long play sessions on one charge. Warframe is the second game I tried out on Switch and the controller performs excellently. The battery life doesn’t last as long as the official Switch Pro Controller but it comes close in some regards. With vibration turned off, long play sessions of Warframe over a few days is possible. The d-pad is great so it also works with puzzle games like Tetris 99 and fighting games like BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle.
Entergram and Ryukishi07 have announced their latest visual novel will release for PS Vita, PS4 and Switch on November 28th. The standard edition costs 4,230 yen and the limited edition costs 7,560 yen. The limited edition comes with an official art book, voice drama CD, “Role of Fate” card and an acrylic art panel. Here’s an overview of the game:
A girls x mental x suspense game from Ryukishi07 and Itaru Hinoue debuts on PlayStation 4, Switch, and PS Vita!
Although it depicts the limits of humans cornered by unimaginable cruelty, Ryukishi07 is overseeing the game in its entirety with a warm message full of human love, alongside Itaru Hinou, who has worked on numerous well-known titles featuring beautiful girls.
In this mismatch of a collaboration, the “Beauties of Itaru” will be depicted at the limits of which you have never seen before…
Staff
Planning and Script: Ryukishi07
Character Design and Drafting: Itaru Hinoue
SD Characters: Hisashi Senomoto
Vocal Music: Naomi Tamura and Emi Uema
Background Music: Higuumi Sound
Story
Four girls, locked in an unfamiliar and ominous room.
When, how, by who, and to where were these close friends kidnapped? It was all unclear. None of the girls have any recollection of a place like this.
At some point, an iron collar was attached to each of the girls’ necks. Those collars were connected to chains, and each chain was connected to a chair at one of the room’s four corners. These were torture chairs that give off an ominous impression.
Four girls frightened in an ominous room with no exit. There, a large cage appeared from the ceiling. Inside, a boy was trapped. The white-robed boy is unable to communicate, and even his emotions show no variation. He, too, must likely be a “prisoner” such as the girls…
“In any case, we need to think of a way to get out of here…!”
“Let me tell you how to escape.”
An ominous voice echoed throughout the room.
I have prepared two fates for all of you. One where everyone in this room dies. The other where only three girls are saved. This is a trial to test the fate of you four.
When the time limit expires, everyone in this room will die.
A group of girls, suddenly attacked by a deadly premonition and hair-raising horror…
Stay tuned at Final Weapon for more information regarding visual novels and Japanese gaming news!
Playtonic Games has announced via Twitter that their upcoming game Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair will be launching in October.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a brand-new platform adventure from some of the key creative talent behind ‘Donkey Kong Country’. As the colourful buddy duo you must tackle a series of stunning, 2.5D levels and explore a puzzling 3D Overworld rich with secrets and surprises!
Fans of Halo Wars 2 have been pretty vocal in their displeasure of the lack of support for the game and even started a petition on Change.org to get Microsoft and 343i to notice their concerns.
After many attempts to get them to recognize gamers needs of big fixes and balance concerns, they have officially made a statement on the subject, and it’s not what they were hoping for.
As awesome as all of these requests are, and as much as we personally share these same desires, the unfortunate reality is that we currently are unable to commit to any future Halo Wars 2 continued development or support at this time.
The same team that is currently working on bringing MCC to PC and Halo: Reach to MCC (the 343 Publishing Team) is also the team that helped make Halo Wars 2 a reality. With the large scope and immense amount of work surrounding MCC for PC, the resources that were previously focused on Halo Wars 2 have been pulled over to help support MCC and Halo: Reach development.
Every one of us cares deeply for Halo Wars 2 and the awesome community that has and continues to play the title. The team has previously partnered directly with the Halo Wars community to be heavily involved in balance patches, bug fixes, and numerous improvements to the game both during initial development and well beyond its launch and subsequent DLC releases. Since launch, Halo Wars 2 received 18 content updates and over 30 balance patches that were built entirely on community feedback and requested changes. While we’d love to keep that great partnership going, at this time the team does not have the bandwidth to work on Halo Wars 2 with other development efforts taking priority.
This doesn’t mean the team won’t revisit Halo Wars 2 in the future – we’ll never say never – but it does mean that these requests are things the team is unable to commit to for the foreseeable future. Who knows, maybe they will be able to focus on some of the requests in the petition later down the road, but at this time, in the interest of transparency and open dialog, we just wanted to be up front and realistic that there are no current plans to do so.
Thank you for all your feedback and requests for even more awesome with Halo Wars 2 – and thank you for the amount of passion and continued interest you show towards the title and the Halo Wars community. We look forward to hopefully being able to work with the community on Halo Wars again in the future.
It’s a disappointment to not only the fans of Halo Wars 2, but puts a very dim light on the future of the franchise. While I could understand the amount of manpower it’s taking to get MCC and Reach into our hands on PC, it’s saddening that this could be an early indication that a Halo Wars 3 may not be in the works in the near future, or even at all.
Halo Wars 2 delivers real-time strategy at the speed of Halo combat. Get ready to lead Spartans, Warthogs and other classic Halo fighting forces in a brutal war against a terrifying new enemy on the biggest Halo battlefield ever.
Spelunky 2 has been delayed past its original 2019 release according to Mossmouth founder Derek Yu on twitter. He said that while development is going smoothly, “the density and detail of the game is demanding more time.”
Here is the full message below:
Hey, Spelunky fans! Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to get to release Spelunky 2 this year. Development is still going well and we’re not far off target, but the density and detail of the game is demanding more time.
Thank you for your patience.
Also, apologies for the lack of updates! It can be tough balancing communication and dev time (and not spoiling too much). When things are quiet, we’re just working away. 🙂
There will be more updates coming, but for now we’re focusing on development!
Also, I took in the feedback about the environments from the trailer, and while I still love the overall style, we’ve been adding more detail, as well as increasing the contrast to make existing details pop (some were pretty subtle and compression wasn’t friendly to them)!
As soon as we have a release date for Spelunky 2, we’ll make sure everyone knows! We can’t wait to show you more, although of course the best way is for you to experience it for yourself at launch. All the crazy stuff we’re adding makes me buzz with excitement. 🙂
Spelunky 2 is currently in development for PC and PS4.
